How is mobile/wireless technology being used in healthcare?

The healthcare industry is increasingly turning to mobile/wireless technologies in order to operate more efficiently, support patient care, improve patient experiences, improve access to care by remote patient populations and much more. In Michigan, we have many organizations taking advantage of these technologies; from our Mobile Monday Grand Rapids host, Priority Health and is parent organization Spectrum Health, to a wide variety of technology firms providing resources to the healthcare industry.

In our April 18th Mobile Monday Grand Rapids event we will showcase some of these organizations and the exciting work they are doing in the healthcare space.

Location Info:

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NOTE: There are several parking meters nearby that are free after 6 p.m. in case you prefer not to park in the ramp. Entrance to the meeting location is on Ottowa Avenue NW. Elevators will be unlocked; take them to the 6th floor. Meeting will be in the Jefferson room.

Topic #1

Emerging Remote Patient Monitoring Technology ..... Has it Arrived Yet?

Presented by: Charles (Chuck) Marlin

Chuck will briefly discuss the history of emerging technology and then move to demonstrate the use of remote patient monitoring technology in various settings. Audience will see in real-time: heart rate, O2 saturation rates, blood pressure, and respiration rate data on iPhone or iPad. The audience will also receive an explanation of how medical data is encrypted and can be sent via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi into the cloud and routed to family, caregivers, home healthcare agency, physician or hospital. All who are given permission by patient can dial in remotely and monitor, anywhere in the world where internet or cell service is available. A physician or other qualified provider can set upper and lower limits on all vitals. If a vital drops below or spikes above pre-determined limits, a notification is sent to some or all of the individuals granted access to the data feed in the form of an alert.

Topic #2

Mobile App Helps Heart Transplant Patients with a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)

Presented by : Dr. Jesus Casida and Al Carpinelli

About 250,000 of 5.8 million Americans are suffering from an advanced or end-stage heart failure. This would include hospital patients who have just gone through open-heart surgery, have a heart that is too weak to do its job, or those who are waiting for a heart transplant. All of these types of patients may require specific assistance to the heart to facilitate pumping oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. The left Ventricular assist Device (LVAD) is a kind of mechanical heart that is placed inside a person's chest and helps the heart keep the patient alive by restoring normal blood flow and allowing the heart to recover normal function by providing adequate rest.

Patients with LVAD need to be constantly monitored (usually by hospitalization) to ensure optimal health and proper mechanical functions. But extending a patient's stay can become extremely expensive and inconvenient for the patient, and can stress hospital resources. Despite the refinement in circulatory support technology, many patients and their family caregivers are still facing challenges in managing the complexity of LVAD care regimen at home. Such a regimen consists of technical and non-technical tasks implemented daily or weekly. During the first six months following hospital discharge, patients and caregivers exhibit low levels of confidence in managing the regimen. This problem contributes to low adherence to the regimen and poor outcomes. Notably, the current self-care management processes include the provision of instructional manuals and logs for vital signs, LVAD parameters, among others.

To address this problem, the University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMNS) conceived a mobile app, VAD Care APP, as a self-care management tool for nursing care practitioners to give to discharged cardiac LVAD patients with which they can easily log their health and mechanical heart pump performance status several times a day. This data is transmitted securely back to the hospital and medical practitioners, where reporting and trending can be performed. The app offers patient and caregiver with daily reminders about the tasks to be performed and a mechanism of reporting LVAD equipment issues and abnormal symptoms to the healthcare providers.

In this session, we will present a brief overview of the LVAD system and demonstrate the use of the VAD Care App as a self-care management tool Currently, we are conducting a feasibility study, followed by a pilot randomized control trial to determine the preliminary efficacy of the use of the VAD Care App on the patient, caregiver, and healthcare utilization outcomes. Our long-term goal is to develop and test an evidence-based guideline underpinning the use of mobile phones as self-care management tools in LVAD, total artificial hearts, and other patients living with complex chronic conditions.

Logic Solutions, a mobile app development and consulting firm in Ann Arbor, and a member of the Mobile Technology Assn of Michigan, is currently in the process of helping UMNS develop this important medical app.

SPEAKER BIOS:

Charles E. (Chuck) Marlin, Managing Partner - Healthcare Technology Solutions, LLC

Mr. Marlin has been involved in the healthcare industry for over 40 years in the risk-bearing (medical malpractice), rick management, and healthcare technology sectors. Rick Management was an outgrowth of insuring risk and finding ways to reduce or eliminate bad outcomes. Evaluating and consulting on various forms of healthcare technology within that environment was a natural progression of the risk management function. Most of his work over the last 3 years has been focused on remote patient monitoring of unstable patients, patient discharges, and non-ambulatory patients. A Chair of the mHealth Advisory Council of the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, appointee to the HIMSS mHealth Committee, and as a member of the Michigan Society of the Healthcare Risk Management, he has been exposed to all sorts of healthcare technology. The technology has ranged from capital and human resource intensive large cumbersome devices, to nimble lightweight and low-cost solutions that monitor key vitals via Bluetooth that can port encrypted information in real time to family members, caregivers, home healthcare agencies, and physicians and hospitals in real-time. Mr. Marlin expects to deliver his insights, share his experiences, and demonstrate one of the leading low-cost remote patient monitoring devices so you can see where patient monitoring will be later this year.

Dr. Jesus Casida, Assistant Professor/Lead Faculty, Undergraduate Honors Program at UM School of Nursing

Dr. Casida is an advanced practice nurse, educator and researcher. He is an assistant professor and lead faculty of the undergraduate honors program at the University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor. His program of research focuses on self-management and care-giving in populations living with complex conditions including, but not limited to patients with advanced heart failure requiring implantation of a ventricular assist device, total artificial heart, or cardiac surgery. In the context of self-management, Dr. Casida investigates mechanisms and interventions related to patient's treatment adherence, self-efficacy, and symptom management (e.g., sleep disturbances). Additionally, he investigates the degree to which the patient's informal (e.g., family member) and formal (e.g., nurses) caregivers contribute to the patient's health, morbidity, healthcare utilization, and quality of life outcomes.

Al Carpinelli, Account Executive, Logic Solutions

Al Carpinelli brings more than 35 years of technology experience to his role as account executive at Logic Solutions. He assists clients in brining their web and mobile presence forward while integrating and taking advantage of investments in their legacy systems. As a solutions consultant for over 15 years at Logic Solutions, he has managed dozens of projects. Prior to Logic, he worked in relationship/direct marketing services at a Big 5 consulting firm and as an account executive with a large computer manufacturer. Additional career highlights include experience in technical sales support and consulting services management including systems analysis and programming, database design, and technical systems support.